Baking Tuesday (late again!!) – First Communion Cake

This week has been an utter disaster!  I sat down to post my cake and was thereafter informed my middle child had lost her math book.  Commence tearing apart the house and both vehicles, only to NOT find said math book!  Wednesday night was Girl Scout prep night.  All the incentives arrived from Girl Scout cookie sales AND the 600 patches I ordered 2 months ago also arrived.  I spent HOURS sorting stuff into bags so we can distribute today.  It is year end planning time at work, quarter end AND I have both sets of grandparents visiting.  So, cake didn’t get posted!

   

This is the cake I made for my math-book-losing child’s First Communion.  There is nothing special about this cake.  The top is a golden white cake mix, into which I surprisingly did not at add anything special! It is filled and covered with basic buttercream.  The bottom is choc cake, chocolate filling, vanilla cake, vanilla filling and choc cake, layered.  As mentioned in a past post, I make my chocolate cake with cold coffee instead of water.  The fillings in this case are pudding made with 1/2c less milk than required for the PIE filling recipe.

The pattern on the buttercream on the top layer is made by lightly pressing a papertowel against the icing after it has crusted over.  The bottom tier is circles of fondant, rolled out thin, into assymetrical “petals”.  Rosary is yellow died fondant.  The gold pieces were made by mixing gold powder with vanilla and painted on.  I have done this with silver also…it turns out pretty. 

 

 

baking tuesday – lime squares – townie

i couldnt decide what i was in the mood for – chocolate, berries, coconut, lemon????   i browsed my pinterest boards and these lime squares jumped out at me…   especially the pistachios in the crust!  YUM!  these did not disappoint at all… they were a nice change from the traditional lemon squares and equally delicious!  the only thing i would do different next time is add more butter to the crust — the graham cracker crust was really crumbly..

Lime Squares with Pistachio Graham-Cracker Crust

adapted form martha stewart

 

Ingredients

• For The Crust

  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for pan
  • 2/3 cup shelled pistachios
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) graham-cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoons grated lime zest

• For The Filling

  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 1 can (14 ounces) fat-free sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. spray an 8-inch square baking dish with pam. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides.
2. In a food processor, finely grind pistachios with graham-cracker crumbs, sugar, and zest. Blend in butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1 inch up sides of prepared pan. Bake until lightly browned, 8 to 12 minutes. Cool crust, 30 minutes.
3. To make the filling: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and condensed milk. Add lime juice; whisk until smooth. Pour filling into cooled crust; carefully spread to edges.
4. Bake until set, about 15 minutes. Cool in pan on rack; then chill at least 1 hour before serving. Using parchment paper overhang, lift out of pan, and transfer to a cutting board.

Baking Tuesday – Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Glaze

I bought a huge bag of Fuji apples at Sams Club this weekend.  It was way more apples (HUGE apples) then my family could eat before they go bad.  So, I went on the hunt for an apple recipe.

I found this recipe.  It looked easy enough and I had all the ingredients.  It came together easily.  Unfortunately, it only took 2 of the apples, I had peeled 4! 

I don’t think I liked this too much.  But, I can’t quite put my finger on why.  The kids and hubby all liked it. 

 *The dough for this is VERY sticky.

Fresh Apple Cake w/ Brown Sugar Glaze

adapted from Lick the Bowl Good 

Apple Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon almond exract
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped apples
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped (optional)

Brown Sugar Glaze:

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 3 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 Tablespoon heavy cream

For the cake: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch pan (round or square) and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice.Stir with a whisk to mix everything together.

In a large bowl, mix the eggs with a hand mixer til light in color and foamy. Add the oil, vanilla and almond extract and beat well.

Stir in the flour mixture with a spoon and continue stirring the batter til the flour disappears. Add the apples and nuts (if using) and stir to mix them into the batter.

Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Place the hot cake on a wire cake. While it’s still hot, prepare the glaze.

For the glaze: Combine all the ingredients into a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook for 3-5 minutes.

Spoon the hot glaze over the still hot-from-the-oven cake. Let the glazed cake cool completely before serving straight from the pan.

cherry squares/bars – baking tuesday – townie

i was trying to distract munchkin #2 from being hungry and demanding dinner while his sister was doing homework way before dinner time….  so we decided to bake  this recipe came together super easy — next time i would use 2 cans of cherry pie filling – otherwise it was delicious!

Cherry Squares

adapted from pretty kittens kitchen

Ingredients:
1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
3 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 lg. can sugar free cherry pie filling

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then beat in the extract. Gradually mix in the flour until well incorporated.
Spread 3/4 of the batter in the bottom of a 9″x13″ pan lined with parchment paper. Scoop cherry pie filling over batter in pan.
Drop remaining batter by spoonfuls over the cherries. (I often use a small cookie scoop and spread the globs out a bit with my fingers.)
Bake at 375 for 45 min. Let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Chicken Picata with Mushrooms and Spinach – Bumpkin

I took out chicken a few days ago with every intention of cooking up a storm.  But, speaking of storms, the weather had another idea.  Winds got up to 70mph here and knocked out our power.  Since we didn’t know how long it would be out we opted to just go into town for dinner.

Fast forward to today.  So, here I am husbandless for the weekend (he is turkey hunting….the result of which will probably a 2-day beard, a bit of sunburn and a headache!) and not REALLY in the mood to cook but I have chicken about to spoil.  I also have meyer lemons, mushrooms and spinach about to spoil.  Sounds like picata time.

I found a quick recipe on allrecipes.com.  It, naturally, needed modifications because WHAT is picata without capers! The kids were watching Tom and Jerry, I whipped up dinner.  They all sat down and STARED!  I HATE going to any sort of effort just to have kids NOT eat.  Push the spinach aside kids….just eat your damn dinner!

After a few bites, spinach and capers picked out.  Dinner was done.  I think it was perfectly delicious.  Hubby will like it (not as much as his mom’s but…)  I will probably make it again because I typically have all the ingredients at any given time. I served it with spaghetti into which I juiced 1 lemon, added a dash of olive oil and grated some fresh parmesan cheese.

Chicken Picata with Mushrooms and Spinach

adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1T chopped garlic
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs – cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• bunch of spinach
• 2T capers

Let’s make It

1. In a shallow bowl, mix together flour, paprika, and salt and pepper. Dredge chicken pieces in the seasoned flour.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add garlic and saute chicken until light golden brown (about 45 seconds each side). Remove chicken from skillet, and set aside.
3. To skillet, add mushrooms, lemon juice, and chicken stock. Simmer until a smooth, light sauce develops. Season with garlic powder. Return chicken to the skillet, and simmer until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. Stir in spinach and capers, and remove from heat.

baked chicken parm – townie

i had taken out 2 packages of chicken yesterday then remembered that we didnt need leftovers – so i only used one package – leaving me with a package of chicken i HAD to use today!    this chicken was YUMMY  the kiddos gobbled it up and left one small piece for the husband… the kids ate it with a side of peas – the husband had some leftover pizza alongside his chicken  i’ll definitely make it again but use double the chicken!

 

 

Baked Chicken Parmesan
adapted from skinnytaste
  

• 1lb thin sliced chicken breast
• 3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• 3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup marinara
• cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450°. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with spray.

Combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. Melt the butter in another bowl. Lightly brush the butter onto the chicken, then dip into breadcrumb mixture. Place on baking sheet and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Lightly spray a little more cooking oil on top and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.Turn chicken over, bake another 5 minutes. Remove from oven, spoon sauce over chicken and top with shredded cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.

baking tuesday – gooey butter cake – townie

ive made gooey cakes before – but i dont think they ever came out truly right..  this time this gooey butter cake came out right!  more than right.. it’s DELICIOUS!  its gone already!  so good — go make it now

Ooey Gooey Butter Cake Bars

adapted from some kitchen stories

Ingredients

1 box of yellow cake mix (1 pound)
4 ounces of butter, melted
3 eggs
8 ounces of cream cheese, softened
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tsp. of vanilla extract

Prepare

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. spray an 8 x 8 inch pan with baking spray.

2. Make the base first: mix together cake mix, butter and 1 egg.

3. Pat into pan, create an even layer.

4. Make the ooey gooey layer: Cream together the cream cheese, 2 eggs, sugar and vanilla.

5. Pour gooey layer over cake layer, spread to edges.

6. Bake for 45 minutes or until edges are golden brown, center should be a creamy yet solid consistency like cheesecake or heaven.

7. Cool completely in pan before cutting with a clean, dry knife.

Baking Tuesday (ON TUESDAY…woohoo) – Spiced Peach Cobbler

The weather outside is turning quite summery!  It is absolutely GORGEOUS in Western Colorado right now (even if you look past the brown grass…since it isn’t REALLY summer yet! Our irrigation water has only been turned on for a week, so nothing is quite green yet)

 Of course, as soon as I “say” this it will start to snow or something!  But, while I enjoy the perfect blue sky, fluffy white clouds and 80-degree temps I am jonesing for some summer fruits!  While they aren’t quite out yet, I did can a gazillion peaches last year and have jars and jars at my disposal.

I searched my Pinterest Baking/Desserts board the other day and pulled up this recipe that I had pinned awhile back.  I had all the ingredients in the house so decided it would work just fine.  The Deen Bros used fresh fruit, but my canned peaches worked just fine as they were done in light syrup and I only slice them, I don’t precook them at all, so they stay nice and firm. I dumped out too much of the juice prior to baking.  I think the only change I would make (to the modifications I had already made from the original!) would be to keep more of the liquid next time.  It was easy, yummy and, the true test, the kids like it.  I served it warm with vanilla bean ice cream…naturally!

Spiced Peach Cobbler

adapted from The Deen Bros

Ingredients

Butter for coating dish

FILLING:
2 qts fresh canned peaches, drained of most juice
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Pinch salt

TOPPING:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose ß our, plus additional
for dusting
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup half-and-half  plus additional for brushing

Let’s make it!

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. In a medium bowl, stir together the filling ingredients. Pour filling into the prepared dish; set aside.

For the topping, in a food processor or large bowl, pulse or whisk together the 1 2/3 cups flour, the sugar, baking powder, spice, and salt. Pulse or cut in the butter until the
mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add the 2/3 cup half-and-half, mixing until the dough just comes together. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and pat together. Form the dough into 2-inch balls. Flatten balls gently with the palm of your hand.

Evenly arrange the dough rounds on top of the filling. Brush a little cream over the rounds and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 1 hour or until the biscuits are golden and the filling is bubbling.

Baking Tuesday – Strawberry Vanilla Birthday Cake

I am getting to the point where maybe Tuesdays don’t work…LOL

But, this week I have an emotionally legitimate reason for being late, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with finishing a book or having too much real work to do.  I spent most of yesterday afternoon crying and last night drinking wine to get over the crying!   My eyes are pretty much puffed shut today, so if there are typos in this post you are just going to have to be more forgiving  than my priest was yesterday! 

Way too much personal stuff to go into right now, but know I had every intention of being on time with “Baking Tuesday” and the stars were, once again, just not aligned!

Anyway, moving on to more chipper discussion!  Our middle child turned 8 this weekend.  Holy cow does time fly!  She is our animal lover.  I think this week was the FIRST time, and I mean EVER, she checked a book out from the library that was NOT about animals.  Needless to say, come birthday time, we typically have a living creature of some kind to design.  This year was no different.  The cat on a huge ball of yarn…hard to not smile!

This was Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe French Vanilla cake.  Which, to be honest, I love but do NOT suggest if you are attempting to make a ball cake of any kind.  It is TOO moist, if there is such a thing.  For a ball design, I will use a pound cake next time.  The shape is not very forgiving so a more dense cake is needed.  The bottom portion of this particular cake is reinforced in ways I just don’t even want to mention!

Anyway, I made the cake mix by following the recipe on the box.  I used olive oil, as usual and decreased the water by 1/3 cup.  In its place I used Cointreau (but Grand Marnier would be just as effective), because the slight orange-y flavor is nice with the strawberries.  I chopped some fresh strawberries really fine, almost to mush, and added 1/2c to the cake batter.  Bake as directed on the box (or, in my case, longer because of the high altitude).  I used cream cheese frosting with some strawberry “mush” added, which I didn’t actually measure because I was just using up what was left from what I prepped to put in the cake.  Cover in fondant.  This is Duff’s.

baking tuesday – pumpkin magic bar minis – townie

i never posted my thanksgiving desert recipes — on the middle and bottom tiers are pumpkin magic bar minis — YUM

chocolate, pumpkin, cheesecake… it was a good mix!

 

Pumpkin Spice Magic Bar Mini’s

recipe from picky palate

1/4 Cup melted butter

3/4 Cup graham cracker crumbs

2 oz softened cream cheese

3/4 Cup pumpkin puree

3 Tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 Cup chocolate chips

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped cashews

3/4 Cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 Cup sweetened condensed milk

Caramel ice cream topping to drizzle (or make your own if you’d rather)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place melted butter and graham cracker crumbs into a bowl; mix to combine.  Press into the bottom of  mini cheesecake cups.  Bake for 8 minutes then remove from oven.

2.  In a bowl beat the pumpkin, softened cream cheese, sugar and cinnamon until smooth.  Spoon evenly over each graham cracker crust, about 2 small spoonfuls.  Next layer chocolate chips evenly over pumpkin layer following with cashews, coconut and condensed milk.  Bake for 22-25 minutes or until top is golden brown.  Remove and let cool.  *Before bars completely cool, take a plastic knife and run around edges to loosen.  It becomes very sticky and difficult to remove from the cups if you do not loosen.

3.  Once cooled, carefully remove from cups and arrange onto serving tray.  Drizzle with warm caramel and serve.